On Monday, April 20, 2026, during the 1st Polish-French Intergovernmental Summit, held in Gdańsk, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and Catherine Vautrin, Minister of the Armed Forces and Veterans of the French Republic, signed a declaration of intent on cooperation in the field of satellite telecommunications.
Photos: Krzysztof Niedziela/MOND
“We are meeting today with the French delegation. This is an important strategic meeting following the signing of the agreement – the Treaty of Nancy. For France, Poland is a partner that guarantees the joint development of the European security architecture. Satellite capabilities and operations in space are of particular importance. France is a leader in this area, and we have been cooperating with it for years. The development of the Polish defense industry and its offer to the French side are also important,” Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said during the 1st Polish-French Intergovernmental Summit.
The date of the event was no coincidence – in accordance with the provisions of the treaty, April 20 was established as Polish-French Friendship Day. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz led the Ministry of National Defense delegation during bilateral talks with Catherine Vautrin, Minister of the Armed Forces and Veterans of the French Republic.
The summit, attended by President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Donald Tusk, became a platform for deepening military, technological, and industrial cooperation between the two countries.
“One of the topics of our talks is joint exercises. Maneuvers in which the Polish Armed Forces took part in France recently ended. This summer, the French will train here in Poland. The defense of NATO’s eastern flank and cooperation within Air Policing remain crucial, including the stationing of French Rafale aircraft in Poland, which took place after the nighttime drone incident. All of this is the subject of joint activities, as is involvement in European programs such as SAFE,” Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz emphasized.
During the 1st Polish-French Intergovernmental Summit, a Bilateral Cooperation Plan for 2026-2028 was signed, setting out the directions for joint activities by the armed forces.
Polish-French cooperation is also expanding into the industrial sphere, as reflected during the summit by the signing of an agreement between Polish company Radmor (part of WB Group), European company Airbus Defence and Space (part of the Airbus SE group), and the joint venture Thales Alenia Space (67% French Thales and 33% Italian Leonardo), aimed at developing modern communications systems (Radmor, Airbus Defence and Space, and Thales Alenia Space to build a geostationary satellite).
The meeting in Gdańsk concluded with a summary of both countries’ involvement in strengthening NATO’s eastern flank and participation in European initiatives such as the SAFE (Security Action for Europe) program.
